Antibacterial Oligomeric Polyphenols from the Green Alga Cladophora socialis

J Org Chem. 2019 May 3;84(9):5035-5045. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.8b03218. Epub 2019 Apr 3.

Abstract

A series of oligomeric phenols including the known natural product 3,4,3',4'-tetrahydroxy-1,1'-biphenyl (3), the previously synthesized 2,3,8,9-tetrahydroxybenzo[ c]chromen-6-one (4), and eight new related natural products, cladophorols B-I (5-12), were isolated from the Fijian green alga Cladophora socialis and identified by a combination of NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometric analysis, and computational modeling using DFT calculations. J-resolved spectroscopy and line width reduction by picric acid addition aided in resolving the heavily overlapped aromatic signals. A panel of Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens used to evaluate pharmacological potential led to the determination that cladophorol C (6) exhibits potent antibiotic activity selective toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with an MIC of 1.4 μg/mL. Cladophorols B (5) and D-H (7-11) had more modest but also selective antibiotic potency. Activities of cladophorols A-I (4-12) were also assessed against the asexual blood stages of Plasmodium falciparum and revealed cladophorols A (4) and B (5) to have modest activity with EC50 values of 0.7 and 1.9 μg/mL, respectively.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / chemistry*
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Chlorophyta / chemistry*
  • Density Functional Theory
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / drug effects
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Polymerization*
  • Polyphenols / chemistry*
  • Polyphenols / pharmacology*
  • Vanillic Acid / chemistry

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Polyphenols
  • Vanillic Acid